Category: Entrepreneurship

Abundance of natural resources, human capital and aspirational population will help create a tech-enabled manufacturing ecosystem in eastern India

Posted on by Business So Simple in Entrepreneurship

Ministry of Steel issued Press release today 21 June 2021.

Abundance of natural resources, human capital and aspirational population will help create a tech-enabled manufacturing ecosystem in eastern India, says Shri Dharmendra Pradhan

Minister of Steel & Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today addressed the webinar on “Making Eastern India a Manufacturing Hub with respect to metallurgical industries”, organised by Indian Institute of Metals. The Webinar was attended by the experts from the metals sector, officials of Ministry of Steel, and state government representatives.

Shri Pradhan, speaking on the occasion, said that Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is working on the mission to bring eastern India at par with other developed regions of the country. With a skilled human capital, abundance of natural resources and an aspirational population, eastern India is poised to create a tech-enabled manufacturing ecosystem. He said that very few nations are blessed with the abundance of natural resources as much as eastern India is. He spoke in detail about the Mission Purvodaya launched also in the steel sector and its potential to spur a new era of development in the eastern India. He also spoke about efforts made by the Government of India in giving boost to logistical infrastructure in the eastern India including inland waterways. Shri Pradhan spoke about the rich heritage of architecture, maritime economy and also industrial development in eastern India and said that time has come to reclaim that glory.

Speaking about sustainable development, Shri Pradhan said that development and ecology can co-exist. He spoke about the leadership provided by Shri Narendra Modi in moving towards a greener future for the world. He said that Governments need to promote industrial development along with sustainable development and policies have to be more people, business and environment friendly. He called upon Indian Institute of Metals to help create greener, cleaner and thus more sustainable products around ‘green steel’.

Speaking about Industrial Revolution 4.0, he said that we must seize the opportunity and create new, innovative and sustainable business models.

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YB

Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Extends Validity of Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum from 31st March, 2021 to 31st December, 2021

Posted on by Business So Simple in Business Consultancy, Entrepreneurship, MSME, Startups

Ministry of MSME issued Press release on Thursday, 17th June 2021 extending Validity of Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum from 31st March, 2021 to 31st December, 2021

Posted Date:- Jun 17, 2021

Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has issued an amendment to the original notification No. S.O. 2119 (E) dated 26.06.2020 vide 2347(E) dated 16.06.2021, extending the validity of EM Part-II and UAMs from 31.03.2021 to 31.12.2021. This would facilitate the holders of EM Part-II and UAMs to avail benefits of the provisions under various existing schemes and incentives including Priority Sector Lending benefits of MSME.

Considering the hardships faced by MSMEs during the prevailing COVID-19 situation and the representations received from the various MSME associations, financial institutions and Government departments dealing with the interest of MSME Sector, the said amendment has been carried out.

It is expected that existing EM Part-II and UAM holders would be able to migrate to the new system of Udyam Registration, which was launched on 1st July, 2020, and would avail the benefits of Government Schemes, thereby paving the way for strengthening MSMEs and leading to their faster recovery, boost to their economic activity and creation of jobs.

Interested enterprises can register on https://udyamregistration.gov.in free of cost and without any documents. Only PAN and Aadhaar are required for registration on the Udyam portal. So far, this portal has facilitated registration and classification of 33,16,210 enterprises as on 17.06.2021 (5.26.43 PM).

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MJPS / RR

Journey of Women Scientists: From Break in Career to become Patent Professionals

Posted on by Business So Simple in Business Consultancy, Entrepreneurship, Startups

Ministry of Science & Technology issued Press Release today (17th June 2021): Journey of Women Scientists- From Break in Career to become Patent Professionals

An inspiring journey of 100 women scientists who returned to science after a break in career has been documented into a book form. The women scientists featured here had to discontinue their pursuit of career in science due to family responsibilities and social reasons. The book, which chronicles their journey  to restart their career despite several obstacles, can be a beacon of light for moreIndian women in similar situations.

Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN) division (now WISE-KIRAN) of the Department of Science & Technology (DST) supports women with break-in careers to return to science through the Women Scientists Scheme (WOS). Through various components of Women Scientists Scheme (WOS), DST addresses challenges confronted by those women who had a break in their career and desire to return to mainstream science. The booklet presents select stories of women who completed their training under WOS-C component of this scheme and are now achieving greater heights in their careers.

Booklet contains 100 success stories of women scientist scheme trainees which captures the lives of women who succeeded despite all odds in life. Booklet is available in both digital and print versions. I know there are many more success stories in the scheme which will be made visible to all in coming years,” said Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST.

Besides the women’s journey, the book includes details like qualification, specialization, present employment status, experience, and information about technical qualification in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) attained by each woman after completing training.

WOS-C is a flagship scheme of the department and a recipient of Nari Shakti Puraskar, 2015 (Rani Lakshmibai Award) conferred by the Hon’ble President of India.WOS-C is implemented by TIFAC, New Delhi, an autonomous organization under DST. Inthe program, one-year long training is provided to women, having qualifications in science/engineering/medicine or allied areas in the field of IPRs and their management. Selection is through an All-India level online examination followed by an interview. Women between the age ranges of 27 to 45 years can avail the benefit of this scheme. Women are trained in nuances of patent filing and prosecution as well as other patent-related work.

Training has successfully developed a pool of women geared to create, protect and manage Intellectual Property in India. About 800 women have been trained in 11 batches, and about 270 women are registered Patent Agents. Many women have started their own IP firms as well and have become entrepreneurs. The scheme has made the women technically and financially confident, and many women of the middle ages who were earlier sitting at home are now beaming IP professionals.

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The booklet is available on DST website: https://dst.gov.in

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SS/RP (DST Media Cell)

Pune based start-up all set to bring non-toxic, gentler, long lasting hand sanitiser to the market

Posted on by Business So Simple in Entrepreneurship, Startups

Ministry of Science & Technology issued Press release today (17th June 2021)

An environment friendly hand sanitizer that is gentle on the hands and does not dry them, will soon be available in the market. The alcohol free, aqueous, non-inflammable and non-toxic hand sanitizer has been developed from Silver Nanoparticles by a Pune based start-up.

Recurrent drying up of hands due to repeated application of hand sanitizers is a challenge which people have faced during the COVID 19 pandemic.

The hand sanitizer developed by WeinnovateBiosolutions prolongs antimicrobial activity thus obviating the need for repeated applications.Silver nanoparticles give slow and sustained release of silver ions to kill microorganisms that come in contact. Besides, it can be stored in ambient conditions.

It has successfully completed Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) approved clinical trial for the hand sanitizer and demonstrated high efficiency in killing viruses.

WeinnovateBiosolutionswas supported by CAWACH 2020 grant of National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and incubated at Entrepreneurship Development Centre (Venture Centre), Pune. They developed the colloidal silver solution-based hand sanitiser. The technologyoperates on the ability of the silver nanoparticles to prevent the synthesis of viral negative-strand RNA and viral budding.

“We are very confident of the study outcomes and waiting to get the license for our hand sanitiser formulation from CDSCO, India. We are sure that such innovation will push India towards its ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ mission and make India a self-sustained nation to face such pandemics in future”, said Dr. Anupama Engineer, Cofounder & COO WeinnovateBiosolutions.

Silver nanoparticles have been found to be an effective antiviral which act against many deadly viruses like HIV, Hepatitis B, Herpes simplex virus, Influenza virus, and so on. Recent reports have suggested the role of Glutathione capped-Ag2S NCs (Silver nanoclusters) in inhibiting the proliferation of Coronavirus by preventing the synthesis of viral negative-strand RNA and viral budding. Thecolloidal silver on which the technology of the sanitizers of WeinnovateBiosolutions is based can help arrest Covid -19 spread by blocking the RNA replication and infectivity by blocking the surface glycoproteins.

A study to evaluate the efficacy of hand sanitiser on different types of viruses is also currently underway by the group.

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SS/RP (DST Media Cell)

Mandatory Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery effective from today-16th June, No penalties till August end in implementation of Gold Hallmarking

Posted on by Business So Simple in Business Consultancy, Entrepreneurship

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution issued Press release on 15th June 2021, says that

Mandatory Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery comes into force from tomorrow – 16th June,

No penalties till August end in implementation of Gold HallmarkingNo penalties till August end in implementation of Gold Hallmarking

Mandatory Hallmark certification of Gold Jewellery is good for both customers & businesses – Shri Piyush Goyal

Extensive consultations with stakeholders held

Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Railways and Commerce & Industry meets various stake holders involved  in Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery in India

Mandatory Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery is going to come into force from tomorrow, 16th June, 2021.

Based on extensive consultations with stakeholders, following decisions were taken-

  1. Hallmarking will be initially be starting from.256 districts of the country which have Assaying marking centres.
  1. Jewellers with annual turnover upto Rs. 40 lac will be exempted from mandatory Hall Marking.
  1. Export and re-import of jewelry as per Trade Policy of Government of India – Jewellery for international exhibitions, jewellery for government approved B2B domestic exhibitions will be exempted from mandatory Hall Marking.
  1. Gold of Additional carats 20, 23 and 24 will also be allowed for Hall Marking.
  1. Watches, fountain pens and special types of jewellery viz. Kundan, Polki and Jadau will be exempted from Hall Marking.
  1. Jewellers can continue to buy back old gold jewellery without hallmark from consumer.
  1. In order to give adequate time to the manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of Gold Jewellery, there would be No penalties till August end.

Old jewellery can be got hallmarked as it is, if feasible by the jeweller or after melting and making new jewellery.

A committee constituting of representatives of all stake holders, revenue officials and legal experts will.be formed to look into the issues that may possibly emerge during the implementation of the scheme.

Shri Goyal said that constructive suggestions are always welcome and implementation should be effective.  It may be noted that Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery was earlier set to begin from 15th June 2021.

Under Hallmarking scheme of Bureau of Indian Standards, Jewellers are registered for selling hallmarked jewellery and recognise testing and Hallmarking centres. BIS (Hallmarking) Regulations, were implemented w.e.f. 14.06.2018. Hallmarking will enable Consumers/Jewellery buyers to make a right choice and save them from any unnecessary confusion while buying gold. At present, only 30% of Indian Gold Jewellery is hallmarked.

The Hallmarking of jewellery/artefacts is required to enhance the credibility of gold Jewellry and Customer satisfaction through third party assurance for the marked purity/fineness of gold , consumer protection. This step will also help to develop India as a leading gold market center in the World.

It is to be noted that there has been 25% increase in A&H centers in the last five years. The number of A&H centers have increased from 454 to 945 in the last five years. At present 940 Assaying and Hallmarking centers are operative. Out of this 84 AHCs have been setup under Govt. subsidy scheme in various Districts.

Presently A&H Centre’s can hallmark 1500 articles in a day, the estimated hallmarking capacity of A&H Centre’s per year are 14 crore articles (Assuming 500 articles per shift &300 working days.

According to World Gold Council, India has around 4 lakh jewellers, out of this only 35879 have been BIS certified.